Inhabitants of the riverside neighbourhood of Douala I Subdivision, Essengue, have come together in an all out war against pollution.

The perennial problem of pollution in the community is linked to undue and indiscriminate discharge of industrial and kitchen wastes into the environment.

With population growth from about 2000 to 7000 inhabitants between year 2000 and 2015, contamination of the environment increased making life almost unliveable as concerned inhabitants became ill at ease with the situation.

As a result, the Essengue quarter head, Richard Manga Bell, mustered his collaborators on Saturday to chat a way forward. To begin with, the quarter head held a consultation meeting with notables and some inhabitants of Bloc III at Essengue on August 29, 2015 with the objective of setting up a master plan to eradicate waste.

During last Saturday’s consultations with notables and members of the community it was established that every member of the community will come out to collect and dispose waste at appropriate points accessible to the Hygiene and Sanitation Company of Cameroon, Hysacam.

The initiative, which will be extended to other four Blocs of the neighbourhood, effectively kicks off on September 3, 2015, and will be repeated on Thursdays of every month.

Other activities to be carried out include cleaning up compounds and gutters in the neighbourhood, remove and properly discard carcasses of vehicles, clearing up bushy areas, and sensitising and educating the community to ensure proper hygiene and sanitation with their surroundings and in all public places.

The activity will in some way generate jobs. “We intend to recruit some youths of the area,” says Mpondo Eboumbou Bolivie, Bloc III notable, “who will cater regularly for the environment. Their task will be clean up gutters, move from one door to the other educating and sensitising other members of the community.”

As concerns funds to pay for the services of the youths, Mpondo said they are expecting help from the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development, surrounding companies and goodwill gestures from associations, elite and other individuals.

Plans are underway to set up a development committee responsible for environmental protection, among other things.